Eureka police: Wife shoots to defend husband

The Eureka Police Department is currently searching for two male suspects, one of whom may have a gunshot wound to the leg, after a woman shot at a man who attacked her husband when he confronted the men outside the couple's Highland Avenue home early Monday morning, according to Detective Ron Harpham.

The incident occurred around 6 a.m. Monday when a man in his 40s noticed a suspicious looking truck parked several feet away from the curb near his house on the 300 block of Highland Avenue while he was about to leave for work. The resident went to investigate and found one white male in the truck and one white male outside the truck, and asked what they were doing.

"The people in the truck were being less than cooperative," Harpham said.

The resident then tried to take a picture of the truck's license plate, but one of the suspects stepped in front of him to block the view. Harpham said the resident was attacked with a flail-like weapon when he then tried to call 911.

A fight ensued, with the resident using a small flashlight as a weapon to defend himself. The suspect in the truck allegedly drove the vehicle toward the two fighting men as a possible attempt to intimidate the resident, according to Harpham. Hearing the fight, the resident's wife came out of the home carrying a handgun with an attached laser sight and fired a warning shot in an attempt to scare the suspects off. When the fight continued and the truck continued to move forward, Harpham said the wife fired one shot at the suspect fighting with her husband. Harpham said the resident told investigators that he had heard the suspect run toward the truck yelling, "She shot me in the leg."

The two suspects drove off eastbound on Highland Avenue in the truck. The resident was injured in the altercation, but did not require medical attention, according to Harpham.

Harpham said it is likely that the two suspects were burglarizing cars in the area based on the weapon used by one of the suspects. A white truck found up the road had a broken passenger-side window and there was backpack was on the seat that might have been the target, Harpham said.

The residents' next door neighbor, who asked not to be named, said she heard a woman yelling, "Get out, get out" and a loud popping noise early in the morning while she was still in bed. The neighbor said she did not know her neighbors owned a gun, but that theft was common in her neighborhood.

Two houses down the street, neighbor Mitch Duty said he had heard a similar commotion.

"Basically, we heard yelling and two sharp pops," he said.

The suspects are described as white males in their 30s, one with a beard who was wearing a hat. The other suspect is described as a white male adult with a shaved head who wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, blue denim jeans and likely has significant wounds to his head from the fight and possibly a bullet wound to the leg. Harpham said local hospitals have been notified.

Video of the incident was captured by a neighbor, which Harpham said will aid in the investigation.

"Obviously one party left the scene, so I haven't heard their side of the story," Harpham said. "I have one side of the story, but all of the evidence at this point supports what (the victims are) saying. They've been completely cooperative."